MW Motorsport was the stand-out team in the Super2 and Super3 paddock at Sydney Motorsport Park this weekend.
The Melbourne team, who was one of the Supercars outfit forced to flee Victoria two weeks ago just to ensure that they could make it to the event, saw Thomas Randle wrestle back the lead in the Dunlop Super2 Series after a dominant weekend.
Randle, driving the Skye Sands Nissan, qualified on pole for Race 1 and was running comfortably first until a Safety Car drew the field close. Will Brown pounced on Randle at the resumption of play, and the stewards initially penalised Randle for holding up the pack.
It was later revealed that Randle had seen a yellow flag (mistakingly held out too long by a flag marshal), and had the penalty overturned, ensuring he finished second.
In the second race, Randle made no mistakes. Again from pole, he controlled it from the front and extended his Super2 Series lead.
The double pole run also means that MW Motorsport passed Tickford Racing to become the team with the most pole positions in Super2 Series history.
Jayco-backed Jayden Ojeda was a stand-out for MWM, finishing third and second in the two races, ensuring that he is one to watch for the rest of the season.
Ojeda was also the top rookie in the series, moving up to fourth in the series standings.
Zak Best also steadily improved over the weekend, finishing 12th in Race 1 after getting caught out in an incident, before improving to seventh in the second race.
In the Super3 Series, rookie Jay Robotham was outstanding, claiming both of the pole positions and race wins.
The 17-year-old Victorian was simply unstoppable in in the two races, even mixing it with the Super2 runners in a debut V8 race weekends that dreams are made of.
His two wins were classified ninth in both races, underscoring his brilliant weekend.
The next round of the series is scheduled for Sandown in September, however, due to the current COVID-19 situation gripping the world, all calendar dates are subject to change.
Jayden Ojeda is the best rookie in the series after two podium results in Sydney this weekend.
Zak Best improved as the weekend progressed, finishing seventh in Race 2.
QUOTES:
Matthew White
Owner, MW Motorsport
“It was a massive undertaking and the boys did an amazing job, particular on a day like Saturday when you have four sessions in one day, and four cars, and you’ve been away from home for two weeks,” said Matthew White.
“We were down a few of our key players too, so the effort from our whole team was spot on.
“There’s a bit of controversy yesterday for Thomas, but none of it was his doing. It was a shame not to have the win, because he earned that as well, but to come away with two poles, and to have the series lead is excellent.
“Jayden is going from strength to strength. I’m really happy for him. He was putting his Super3 car in places that it shouldn’t have been last year, so we knew that he was going to be competitive. He has proved that and now he can build on it.
“Zak was turned around in Race 1 and that put him on the back foot. He made amends in the final race, finishing seventh. It was nice to see some progress for him, so he can now focus on hitting the ground running at the next event.
“And I’m really happy for Jaylyn too in Super3. It has been a pleasant surprise, but I had an inclining that on the test day that he was going to be fast. There wasn’t a lot of effort to make him go faster, because he was very quick and on the mark all weekend.”
Thomas Randle
#16 Nissan Altima, Super2
“I have to thank the team for this – the Skye Sands Nissan was very quick this weekend,” said Thomas Randle.
“Apart from not winning yesterday, I really had a dream run, and it will be nice for the boys to go home with a result like this. They have basically been away from their homes for two weeks, so to give them this, after a five month break, is fantastic.
“The restart incident in Race 1 was unfortunate. I was glad that the stewards were able to look into that. That would have really changed the course of the weekend.
“But to get both poles and help MW Motorsport now have the most poles in Super2 history, is really cool.”
Jayden Ojeda
#31 Nissan Altima, Super2
“It was a great weekend. From the first practice, to be P1, we knew that the car was in the window and we were going to have a good chance,” said Ojeda.
“We’ve been working really hard. Matt and his team works extremely hard behind the scenes, and us drivers we work hard in the gym. COVID has put a downer on the season, but we’ll take these results while we can get them.
“It’s a bit annoying not knowing where the next event is, but the reality is that there’s a bigger problems in the world. But when we do go racing, if we can have meetings like this, it makes up for it.“
Zak Best
#78, Nissan Altima, Super2
“Had good race pace, but didn’t get to capitalise as best as we could,” said Best.
“I didn’t know that hit was coming on the first lap of the first race. I just felt a slight nudge and it was too late to save it.
“It was good to be in the top few in the second race, battling and moving forward, rather than going backwards.
“By the end of the weekend, I was getting my head around the track and getting used to the car, so overall, it was a pretty solid weekend and to finish seventh in Race 2 was a good way to finish on a high.”
Jaylyn Robotham
#28 Ford Falcon FG, Super3
“It was a bit surprising to come in with the speed that we had, but to end up with two poles and two wins was awesome,” said Robotham.
“The main focus is to beat the Super3 guys, but when you find yourself racing the Super2 guys, you learn a bit. They have more experience and their cars are a bit faster in certain areas.
“It would be good to get a test day in before the next event, whenever that might be. I felt it was a bit risky doing massive set-up changes, but the car was on point. It would be nice to play with the bars and set-up on a practice day, rather than trying to learn on the fly!
“But overall, it was a good experience for us and a big thanks to the MW Motorsport crew.”
Jay Robotham was unstoppable in Super3, taking both race wins.
